Cursed

by Shawntelle Madison

  “Now I remember.” She moved in close enough to violate my personal space, so I took a polite step back. “Is your friend’s last name Grantham?”

  “Yes, it is,” Thorn joined us.

  From our past conversations, all I knew was that the Granthams emigrated from Europe to the United States long before my family came. I listened for many hours to my grandma Lasovskaya talk about her journey from Russia to the US, but Thorn never revealed his family history.

  She chuckled, briefly reaching out with her thin fingers to touch him. “I’ve seen a face like yours on a photo from an album. Those men were Union soldiers, a bunch of handsome boys in blue. The one who looked like you had the name Oswald Grantham.”

  After hearing that name, Thorn perked up. “Where can we find this album? Do you have it?”

  “Oh, no.” She shook her head. “The pack alpha bought most of my Civil War memorabilia a few years ago. He’s kind of batshit crazy.”

  Thorn and I exchanged a look. Now that was definitely the pot calling the kettle black.

  “If you ask him, he might dig into his collection and let you know more about the man in the picture,” the shopkeeper said. “Most of what we have in town is connected to the area.”

  Thorn nodded, and we thanked her for her time.

  As much as I wanted to hear more, the shadows here seemed too stifling to linger.

  Chapter 3

  Sunset approached far faster than I’d expected. After a quick dinner at a local diner, we returned to the bed and breakfast to get ready for the ceremony. As hints of the moon rising touched me, my skin hummed from the oncoming change. In a few hours, I would be hunting beside Thorn as a wolf. The monthly ritual was our time alone in our natural forms.

  Thorn dressed in a white shirt and black formal slacks while I put on a long, white gown made from the softest chiffon and silk. I didn’t have anything nice back at home, so my aunt Olga was kind enough to loan me one of her Russian pageant dresses from back in the day—the late eighties, to be honest—but her kindness was appreciated, so I accepted the dress with grace.

  “It’s classic, Nat,” she said with a swirl of her fingers. “This dress never goes out of style.”

  Thorn didn’t complain. The garment clung to every curve I had, and based on the hungry look he gave me, I did the dress justice.

  “So …” Thorn drew my body against the hard lines of his. Damn, he smelled so good. “Do we start the mating ritual before the ceremony or after?” His lips trailed along my jaw line, sending delicious sparks in their wake.

  Before I replied, I had to swallow past the lump in my throat. “They want us down in the fortress before sunset.”

  He drew me into a kiss as his large hands rubbed the bared skin of my back. Warmth spread from each stroke. Our kiss deepened, and I couldn’t resist moaning. He tasted amazing. All I could do was clench his wide back and hold on for the ride.

  “We can start early on the baby-making if you like. I wouldn’t mind getting you out of these clothes twice.” The low timbre of his voice melted my insides, but the reality of the situation also pressed against my mind. I was Fertile Myrtle tonight—whether I was ready or not.

  I froze.

  “You know how I feel,” I whispered.

  He continued to hold me close, but I sensed a wall crash down between us as he sighed.

  “And how do you feel?” he managed, probably trying not to sound too upset.

  He tried to kiss me again, but I added some space between us. As much as I wanted to dance the horizontal mambo with Thorn, I wasn’t ready for pregnancy. I had too many reasons that I didn’t feel like rehashing with him.

  Also, I was a stickler for time. The clock read five-thirty. We didn’t have time to make out like two horny college kids.

  He took my hand. I sensed his blue eyes on me, but I didn’t want to look at them. To remember all the beautiful things he told me the last time we had this discussion:

  I choose you as my consort.

  You’re perfect in all the right places. Our baby would be the same.

  Your mental illness hasn’t kept you from overcoming the challenges in your life.

  I had faced many challenges, including dealing with an obsessive-compulsive disorder, but bringing a kid into this world was a game-changer. A life-altering event that even my willpower couldn’t swallow whole. Just hearing Thorn say those things wasn’t the same as believing without a doubt. Something I wasn’t sure I could do.

  Instead of tugging him into my arms to surrender to desire, I pulled him toward the door. It was time for the ceremony. Dealing with the next major step in our lives was best suited for after the wedding vows and the light of the morning.

  ###

  A wide, dirt path took us from the sidewalk toward the Bright Haven Fortress ruins. The sun peeked from the horizon, and a purple haze bled through the trees, giving them an ominous glow. Thorn continued to hold my hand as we walked toward the columns without words.

  Maybe he was mad at me. When I squeezed his hand, he didn’t squeeze back. That was a first for Thorn. He was rarely perturbed by what I threw at him, but I guessed everyone had limits.

  As much as I wanted to see his side of things, it was hard. Living as a werewolf wasn’t an easy existence. A rival pack attacked ours over a year ago. There were enemies within our ranks that searched for any opportunity to bring down Thorn and me. How could I possibly protect a baby in that situation?

  He did look at me, but he must’ve sensed my thoughts. “You have the largest family I’ve ever seen.” He chuckled. “You’d never be alone. You’re never alone when you have your pack and the people you love around you.”

  The trees obscuring the ruins came into the view, and with it, the lights from torches inside the hollowed out building. To my left, I spied in the growing darkness headstones. Most likely from soldiers who never survived countless attacks. The dates stood out in the carved, moss-covered limestone. 1878. 1733. To think Thorn and I would live for centuries if we took care of each other was mind boggling at times.

  The sounds of voices bounced around the open space inside the ruins. A sizeable crowd gathered with a few recognizable faces from our shopping trip. The older werewolf from the Lilly Mae’s Antique Emporium waved at me. And she wasn’t alone either. She pointed to a young woman, who was most likely her single granddaughter, and winked at Thorn. A few women huddled around a long table, setting up a wedding cake and appetizers. One man continued to light torches in the circle they formed around us.

  “It’s almost sunset,” Jackson said with enthusiasm. He came up behind us and pushed us toward a single stone block near the front of the fortress. “We should get you two taken care of ... before the sun goes down.”

  “Sorry,” I murmured. “We needed to talk for a bit.”

  “Not a problem. How about we get started?” He glanced to the pack alpha and his wife who waited for us. “Our alpha wanted to say a few words before your ceremony began. He’ll be sure to be brief.”

  I tried not to laugh. The last thing we needed was for everyone to shift into werewolves and have a bunch of dogs ransacking the food table. The twinges of the change should’ve hit me hard about now, but I felt fine. Maybe I had enough control to last through the ceremony. Thorn could always control his shape-shifting until the last minute.

  Calvin stepped forward. “These are the Bright Haven Fort ruins. As both a boy and as a man, I’ve seen the honorable structure in its glory days and now I see her in her wreckage. Precious moments like your vows tonight remind us that once what was tainted can become clean again. Through the ceremonies we hold here, we can only hope you two see past any differences you have and agree that a united front is better than a divided one.”

  I sensed Thorn’s deep blue eyes on me, but I couldn’t hold his gaze. So far, I hadn’t done too well on the united front part.

  Beyond Thorn’s back, I spotted what was left of the sun as it sank toward the horizon. It glowed agains
t his back, creating an angelic hue. I snorted and tried not to think about the devilish things he planned for me tonight.

  “You’re not a part of our pack,” Calvin said as he continued, “but the bonds between you and your mate can be declared anywhere with a dominant pair present. Please speak your minds.”

  Thorn faced me, and I swallowed the well of feelings that sprang. A smile spread across his face, and for a moment, it was just us. His hands in mine. The breeze ruffling his hair. The deep scent of old stone and thick Spanish moss.

  Not far from me, I caught the nervous gaze of the mayor. His eyes kept flicking to the alpha pair. What had him so twitchy? A disturbing sense of unease crept up the back of spine.

  “The first time we did this, you were tired, I was tired.” Thorn had my attention again, and I was lulled in to his words, remembering. “You’d fought for your life that night to become my alpha female. Now matter what would’ve happened, you would have always had my heart. I choose you for all the things that make you perfect for me.” He reached out a hand and wiped something off my cheek. I hadn’t realized I’d started crying.

  “Now that we’re making strides in our relationship, I wanted to give you the moment you deserved—”

  Suddenly, a shriek filled the ruins. Followed by another. Thorn’s grip on my hands tightened and he pushed me behind him toward the center of the fort.

  “What was that?” I said.

  “It sounded human,” Thorn replied.

  Beyond the ruins, someone raced across the field in the murky darkness. Then two more people ran to our right. The sounds of their footsteps and rapid heartbeats filled my senses. Beyond them, I noticed the sun had set. Darkness prevailed and leached toward the columns beyond the fortress.

  Instead of backing toward us in a defensive formation like any group of werewolves would, the wedding party members glumly stood there looking at us.

  Had the drinking started too soon and I missed something?

  “We’d hoped you’d finish the ceremony first before things got complicated,” Jackson said slowly.

  “Complicated?” Thorn said, the growing tension thinning his voice.

  Uncontrollable laughter, followed by the sounds of shattered glass came from farther away.

  The mayor sighed. “Many years ago, someone cursed our town and the people who live here.”

  Dread kicked me in the gut. So what the shopper keeper said was true? Had something happened to all the humans?

  He took a step away from us and appeared to be crestfallen. “Things around here have gotten pretty bad.”

  “No shit,” I whispered.

  “We need to leave,” Thorn said firmly.

  “Please don’t go,” the alpha female said. Calvin continued to stand silent like the stone walls around us. “We’ve invited so many couples. They came—and ate our food—but none of them succeeded in removing the curse.”

  “Maybe because you brought them here under false pretenses,” I spat. The desire to leave grew, but something told me to stay put and learn the real deal. “Give it to me straight.”

  Thorn trembled at my side, his anger building.

  “Look, look. Here is where things stand—” the mayor began.

  “Stop feeding them bullshit, Jackson,” Calvin said. He looked me square in the eyes, and I did the same to him.

  “Not long after the Yankees took out this fortress during the Civil War, one of our ancestors tainted this town with a curse,” Calvin began. “Ever since then, no werewolf living in town shifts into their natural form during the full moon. Overnight, all the pack members fall into madness, but by dawn, everything resets back to how it was before.” He let out a long sigh. “The town has deteriorated since that time.”

  The mayor held his head down, avoiding our hard stare. “The Granthams won’t help us like the others. They’ll run away.”

  “They will help,” the alpha implored. “They have no choice.”

  No choice in what?

  My gaze snapped to Thorn’s. Icy fear slithered up my back and wrapped around my throat like a tightening vice.

  I took a step away from them, and then I sensed it—or perhaps the better term was what I didn’t sense. Between the cries from the crowd around us, the town beyond the fortress had gone silent. The song from the wind whistling between the columns muted. My heartbeat’s rapid pitter-patter faded away, too.

  Even worse, the moon’s siren call for me to shift into wolf form never reached my ears. The itch to shift was gone. With growing horror building into a heavy iron block in my stomach, I stared at my husband.

  “We’re cursed, too,” he gasped.

  Chapter 4

  Everyone faced each other, no one moving until a man shrieked like a night owl as he streaked butt-naked across the field. Another woman, not a single stitch of clothing either, made a beeline for the refreshments table and tackled everyone around it before she landed onto it. On top of our cake, too. With a gleeful expression on her face, she shoved handfuls of cake into her mouth. Then she flung a fistful of cake at the mayor. With a wet plop, a healthy dollop of icing struck the side of his face.

  Two dark-haired, half-naked men advanced on us from right. One diverted his path to pounce on the alpha. Calvin rolled out of his attack, tossing the pouncing man into the fortress wall. Thorn and I stood watching the madness like fools until he grabbed my hand and as we made a run for it, I ditched the heels and ran barefoot out of the ruins.

  “Where are we going?” I already sounded breathless as we reached the street. My lungs burned as he led me around a corner, but we kept running. All the lights from the houses were out. There was no one on the streets—except those who chased after us.

  The need to look behind me tugged at me. For so long I’d depended on my ears to hear pursuers but they sounded so far away. When I glanced over my shoulder, I was stunned and gripped Thorn’s arm.

  “They’re closing in on us,” I yelled.

  Thorn noticed broken glass on the sidewalk so he hoisted me over his shoulder and kept going into the street.

  “This isn’t a smart move,” I belted out.

  He put me back down once we reached a dark alley. “This is so gross,” I hissed into his ear. We hid behind a garbage container. I ignored the rising disgust, but it threatened to overtake me. All the things I could ignore before came full force in an inhale and exhale—from the sidewalk to the alley to the filthy waste receptacle beside us. This wasn’t the time for my obsessive-compulsive disorder to kick in full strength.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. In through the nose and out through the mouth. I’m okay. I’m okay. I’m okay.

  “Why aren’t they coming after us?” I whispered, trying to think of anything except our predicament. My anxiety skyrocketed since our human form locked us. The wolf in me, the part that didn’t care about the trivial things humans cared about, was silent.

  “They can’t hear or smell us,” he replied.

  We exchanged a look. “Those crazy bastards are as human as we are.”

  He nodded and rubbed his arms.

  I noticed the cold then, too. Normally our warm bodies never noticed temperatures a few degrees above freezing, but right then, I couldn’t help but feel the icy breeze that swept down the alley and went up my dress. Wow, that kind of cold was something the humans felt all the time. What a bummer.

  “We need to get our clothes and coats.” A look of determination crossed his face. “You stay here where it’s safe and dark. I’ll hurry back to the B&B to get our stuff. Once I get back, we’ll get the hell out of this place.”

  I grabbed his arm. “I’m not saying here by myself.”

  He sighed. “Things are difference now. You’re different—” He stopped then added, “We’re both different. The sooner we get to safety the better—”

  I couldn’t stop my bitter retort from coming fast. “You mean I’m even weaker now.”

  “I didn’t say that, Natalya.”


  “But did you think it?”

  He held my face between his large hands. “I didn’t think it. If you really used that smart head of yours, you’d know I’m the weaker one right now. I may look like I’ve got my shit together, but right now I’m pretty messed up inside.”

  I had calmed myself through controlled breathing. Attending group therapy for my anxiety taught me a trick or two on coping with stress.

  “You’re not going alone,” I said. “We need to stay together.”

  He finally nodded, relenting to my stern expression.

  He took my hand and led me out of the alley back into the street. We took things slowly, aiming for stealth like any good hunter would do. We darted from building to building, car to car, until we reached the outside of the Uncle Barker’s Bed and Breakfast. The flashy Christmas lights were turned off, and now the beautiful building had a dark presence. Thorn and I considered going through the front door, but we noticed two half-naked folks lounging around the sign. They picked at the Christmas lights while the other one plucked the heads off the wilted orchids in the flowerbed. It was a damn shame they had to deface one the prettiest parts of the property.

  The only option left was to try the back of the building or to climb up the side somehow. Each floor had a balcony. With some hard work, we could get to our second-floor room. We headed for the side and approached one of the trellises reaching to the second floor.

  “Will it hold your weight?” I asked him.

  He checked and nodded.

  Before he went though, he gestured for me to head on up first. Under normal circumstances, a quick leap to a second floor could be done without an afterthought. Now we were dropped down a peg or two in terms of strength. I grabbed the side of the trellis and barely got a few feet. It was embarrassing to say the least.

  “Give me a boost,” I hissed.

  “How?” He grabbed me around the waist and heaved me up as far as he could. “I hadn’t realized you were this heavy,” he said with a chuckle.